Great snipe

The great snipe is a stocky wading bird in the sandpiper family Scolopacidae, its scientific name Gallinago media referring to its size between the woodcock and the common snipe. It measures 26 to 30 centimeters long with a 43 to 50 centimeter wingspan, noticeably bulkier than the common snipe with a shorter, 6 to 7 centimeter bill, mottled brown upperparts, barred underparts and a dark eye stripe. It breeds across northeastern Europe and northern Asia, from Scandinavia through Russia to western Siberia, and winters in tropical Africa, making non-stop migratory flights of 4,000 to 7,000 kilometers lasting 60 to 90 hours, reaching speeds up to 97 kilometers per hour and altitudes above 8,700 meters, among the highest recorded for a migrating bird. During the breeding season males gather at leks, standing erect with puffed chests and fanned tails while producing rattles, clicks, buzzes and whistles.